Cultural psychology
Encyclopedia
Cultural psychology is a field of psychology
which assumes the idea that culture
and mind
are inseparable, and that psychological theories grounded in one culture are likely to be limited in applicability when applied to a different culture. As Richard Shweder
, one of the major proponents of the field, writes, "Cultural psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self, and emotion" (1991, p. 72). Cultural psychology is that branch of psychology which deals with the study and impact of culture, tradition and social practices on psyche for the unity of humankind.
Cultural psychology has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s but became more prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the classic texts promoting cultural psychology include Shweder and Levine (1984), Triandis (1989), Bruner (1990), Shweder (1991), Markus and Kitayama (1991), Cole (1996), Nisbett & Cohen (1996), Shore (1996), Fiske, et al. (1998), Nisbett, et al. (2001) and Nisbett (2003). Cultural psychologists generally use either ethnographic or experimental methods (or a combination of both) for collecting data.
Cultural psychology is distinct from cross-cultural psychology
in that the cross-cultural psychologists generally use culture as a means of testing the universality of psychological processes rather than determining how local cultural practices shape psychological processes. So whereas a cross-cultural psychologist might ask whether Piaget's stages of development are universal across a variety of cultures, a cultural psychologist would be interested in how the social practices of a particular set of cultures shape the development of cognitive processes in different ways.
Cultural psychology research informs several fields within psychology, including social psychology
, developmental psychology
, and cognitive psychology
. However, the relativist perspective of cultural psychology tends to clash with the universalist perspectives common in most fields in psychology.
One of the most significant themes in recent years has been cultural differences between East Asians and North Americans in attention
(Masuda & Nisbett, 2001), perception
(Kitayama, et al., 2003), cognition
(Nisbett, et al. 2001) and social psychological phenomena such as the self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Some (Turiel) have argued that this research is based on cultural stereotyping and faulty methodology (Matsumoto). However, proponents of cultural psychology have countered these critics with evidence suggesting that such criticisms are based on an over-emphasis of cross-cultural comparisons of self-reported attitudes and values, which are relatively unstable and ultimately misleading (Heine, Lehman, Peng, & Greenholtz, 2002; Peng, Nisbett, & Wong, 1997). Instead, relying on experimental and ethnographic evidence of deeper level mental processes, which are more stable and more reflective of tacit cultural and historical influences, has been what cultural psychology is about (Kitayama, 2002, Nisbett, 2003).
According to Richard Schweder (1991), the main finding of a universalistic approach to cross-cultural psychology has been the repeated failure to replicate Western laboratory findings in non-Western settings. Therefore, a major goal of cultural psychology is to have divergent cultures inform basic psychological theories in order to refine and/or expand these theories so that they become more relevant to the predictions, descriptions, and explanations of all human behaviors, not just Western ones (Markus & Kitayama, 2003).
Also sometimes called "Cultural Psychology" is what Wikipedia lists as Cultural–historical psychology.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
which assumes the idea that culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
are inseparable, and that psychological theories grounded in one culture are likely to be limited in applicability when applied to a different culture. As Richard Shweder
Richard Shweder
Richard A. Shweder, is an American cultural anthropologist and a significant figure in cultural psychology. He received his B.A. in anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University's Department of Social Relations in 1972. He taught...
, one of the major proponents of the field, writes, "Cultural psychology is the study of the way cultural traditions and social practices regulate, express, and transform the human psyche, resulting less in psychic unity for humankind than in ethnic divergences in mind, self, and emotion" (1991, p. 72). Cultural psychology is that branch of psychology which deals with the study and impact of culture, tradition and social practices on psyche for the unity of humankind.
Cultural psychology has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s but became more prominent in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the classic texts promoting cultural psychology include Shweder and Levine (1984), Triandis (1989), Bruner (1990), Shweder (1991), Markus and Kitayama (1991), Cole (1996), Nisbett & Cohen (1996), Shore (1996), Fiske, et al. (1998), Nisbett, et al. (2001) and Nisbett (2003). Cultural psychologists generally use either ethnographic or experimental methods (or a combination of both) for collecting data.
Cultural psychology is distinct from cross-cultural psychology
Cross-cultural psychology
Cross-cultural psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental process, including both their variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions...
in that the cross-cultural psychologists generally use culture as a means of testing the universality of psychological processes rather than determining how local cultural practices shape psychological processes. So whereas a cross-cultural psychologist might ask whether Piaget's stages of development are universal across a variety of cultures, a cultural psychologist would be interested in how the social practices of a particular set of cultures shape the development of cognitive processes in different ways.
Cultural psychology research informs several fields within psychology, including social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
, developmental psychology
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to...
, and cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
. However, the relativist perspective of cultural psychology tends to clash with the universalist perspectives common in most fields in psychology.
One of the most significant themes in recent years has been cultural differences between East Asians and North Americans in attention
Attention
Attention is the cognitive process of paying attention to one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within psychology and cognitive neuroscience....
(Masuda & Nisbett, 2001), perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...
(Kitayama, et al., 2003), cognition
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
(Nisbett, et al. 2001) and social psychological phenomena such as the self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Some (Turiel) have argued that this research is based on cultural stereotyping and faulty methodology (Matsumoto). However, proponents of cultural psychology have countered these critics with evidence suggesting that such criticisms are based on an over-emphasis of cross-cultural comparisons of self-reported attitudes and values, which are relatively unstable and ultimately misleading (Heine, Lehman, Peng, & Greenholtz, 2002; Peng, Nisbett, & Wong, 1997). Instead, relying on experimental and ethnographic evidence of deeper level mental processes, which are more stable and more reflective of tacit cultural and historical influences, has been what cultural psychology is about (Kitayama, 2002, Nisbett, 2003).
According to Richard Schweder (1991), the main finding of a universalistic approach to cross-cultural psychology has been the repeated failure to replicate Western laboratory findings in non-Western settings. Therefore, a major goal of cultural psychology is to have divergent cultures inform basic psychological theories in order to refine and/or expand these theories so that they become more relevant to the predictions, descriptions, and explanations of all human behaviors, not just Western ones (Markus & Kitayama, 2003).
Also sometimes called "Cultural Psychology" is what Wikipedia lists as Cultural–historical psychology.
Research institutions
- Institute of Cultural Psychology and Qualitative Social Research (ikus)
- Institute of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University Vienna
- Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (LCHC)Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition (LCHC)Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition is a social science laboratory located at the University of California, San Diego since 1978. Scholars at LCHC pursue research focused on understanding the complex relationship between cognition and culture in individual and social development...
Further reading
- Kitayama, Shinobu, & Cohen, Dov (2007). Handbook of Cultural Psychology. Guilford.